Gus has confirmed himself to be a really potent guitarist for the reason that early ’00s, and Metal Burner’s strand of heavy metallic affords a great common gist of the instrumental and solo craft he’s identified for. The album doesn’t steer too far off Quantum Leap’s core on this regard. Gus’s pure bend in direction of ’80s rock and metallic exhibits up in full drive as soon as once more, containing Yngwie and Blackmore-esque guitar hero cheese (“What If,” “Closure”) when it comes to each shred and soulful play. A shocking spotlight is “Creation” with its fascinating djent-ish influences by means of downtuned 2010s rhythm guitar work. It pans out significantly better than one would possibly assume and makes for a refreshing pay attention in an album stuffed with in any other case anticipated supply materials.
The opposite facet of Metal Burner is the file’s complicated move and identification, the visitor vocalist tracks being at odds with the instrumental songs. Whereas Quantum Leap was totally instrumental, Metal Burner accommodates a theoretically balanced set of 5 tracks with vocals and 5 instrumentals. This intentional selection rapidly finally ends up working towards itself. Doro (Doro, ex-Warlock) and Matt Barlow (ex-Iced Earth, ex-Pyramaze) are each beginning to present their age, delivering some good strains however flat choruses (“Nothing Can Break Me,” “Dancing with Loss of life”). The out of the blue enervated instrumentation exacerbates the standard distinction between Metal Burner’s completely different facets. Luckily, the again half fares higher. Vocal mercenaries Ronnie Romero (ex-Rainbow) and Dino Jelusić lend stronger performances on higher, extra AOR-adjacent tracks (“My Premonition,” “No One Has to Know”), and I wouldn’t thoughts Gus working with Ronnie extra typically primarily based on “My Premonition.” Apart from the vocal-instrumental conflict, the drums are a sticking level. Gus’s drum programming on the aforementioned tracks is stable, however Quantum Leap’s visitor drumming proves that extra diverse and potent percussion would have helped make these songs rather more full of life.
Very similar to Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Gus G. is a superb guitarist who’s often higher when sharing vocals-forward songwriting reins with different folks. Metal Burner tends to repeat a few of his early-career hiccups with Mystic Prophecy, the place the rhythm guitar tends to be underdeveloped and the songs oddly stripped-down with out the choruses compensating for it. Gus is excellent at crafting colourful instrumental compositions (“Creation,” “Confession”) and even commonplace energy metallic tracks at larger BPMs (“Kill the Ache” on Firewind’s self-titled, “Escape from Tomorrow” all the best way again on Cast by Hearth), however making a ‘regular’ mid-paced observe with vocals typically requires some further palms alongside him. Firewind’s two most up-to-date data are proof of this, and the constructive impact of a constant powerhouse vocalist like Herbie Langhans is undeniably missing right here.
Metal Burner has its vivid spots, however finally ends up feeling like two EPs in a bar struggle. It mashes collectively elements of Quantum Leap and Stand United, and each halves sadly endure consequently. Whereas nothing on the file is strictly off-putting, the instrumental facet is clearly the higher and extra impressed one, containing the standard guitar goodness you’d anticipate from Gus. Even so, one take heed to Quantum Leap’s title observe exposes Metal Burner’s common lack of urgency in comparison with prior works. Seize many of the instrumental tracks and “My Premonition,” and also you’ve acquired a stable EP! Regardless of the general expertise being hit-and-miss, I nonetheless respect Gus’s work ethic, and I’ll be gladly ready to see what he comes up with subsequent.
Score: Blended
DR: Nope! | Format Reviewed: Alas, poor Stream!
Label: Steel Division
Web sites: gusgofficial.com | Fb | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April twenty fourth, 2026
